OBITUARIES

Kirk L. Aronstam, a Menlo Park business attorney for 23 years, died at his Palo Alto home July 22 after a brief illness with cancer. Mr. Aronstam's offices were located at 750 Menlo Ave.

Born in San Francisco, Mr. Aronstam lived in Tiburon before moving to Atherton with his family. He graduated from Menlo School and received his bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon in 1968. He then entered the U.S. Naval Air Reserve, serving for three years in Lakehurst, N.J. After completing his military service, he received his law degree from the University of San Diego.

Mr. Aronstam was a devoted father to his daughter, Jessica, whom he accompanied to early morning ice skating practices and competitions around the country for almost 10 years.

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and his daughter, Jessica; his father and stepmother Charles and Peggy Aronstam of Atherton; and his brother, Brian Aronstam of Palo Alto.

No services are planned. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of the donor's choice.

Pauline Pegram

65-year Menlo Park resident

Pauline Pegram of Menlo Park, a bank employee of American Trust (which later became Wells Fargo) in Palo Alto for 45 years, died August 3 at age 94.

Mrs. Pegram was born in San Francisco and moved to East Palo Alto with her family as a teenager. She graduated from Sequoia High School and worked for Western Union before becoming a bank teller.

After she was married to Winchester Pegram, the couple moved to Menlo Park. Mr. Pegram died many years ago.

She is survived by her sister Dorothy Schilder of Redwood City; nephew Larry Schilder of Orange, California; and other nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Pegram was a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church. Services were held August 6 at John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel with private burial at Alta Mesa Memorial Park.

Joseph J. Sauerland

Retired Coca-Cola bottler

Joseph J. Sauerland, a retired Coca-Cola bottler and longtime resident of Menlo Park, died July 29 after a brief illness. He was 89.

A native of Natzungen, Germany, Mr. Sauerland was a member of the Kolping Society of San Francisco.

He is survived by his son Joseph F. Sauerland and daughter-in-law Sharon, and son John F. Sauerland and his daugther-in-law Janet; his siblings, Ellizabeth Beine and Josepha Ischen, both of Germany; eight grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Theresia Anna Sauerland, and his daughter, Rosemarie Currivan.

Services have been held. Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1720 S. Amphlett Blvd., Suite 120, San Mateo, CA 94306.

J. Earle 'Lefty' May

Investment broker

An August 10 memorial service will be held at the Stanford Sunken Diamond at 4 p.m. for J. Earle "Lefty" May, who died August 3. He was 95.

Born in Brunswick, Georgia, Mr. May moved to Los Angeles in 1920 and entered Stanford University at age 16. Friends said he spent much of his time playing baseball and playing saxophone in both his own band -- which headlined at the opening of Palo Alto's Cardinal Hotel -- and the Stanford Band.

After graduation, he returned to Los Angeles, playing semi-professional baseball and eventually becoming a trainee at the stock brokerage of Blyth Witter & Co. He moved into the trading department, where he witnessed the Great Crash of 1929.

In 1928 he married Mary Ruth Dickson. The couple remained married until her death in 1985. Mr. May was married a second time in 1987, to Margaret Ayer of Palo Alto.

After what family members characterized as several lean years as a stockbroker in New York and San Francisco, the family relocated to the Menlo Oaks area of Menlo Park. The family moved to Arlington Way a month before Pearl Harbor.

Turned down for military service, Mr. May worked in the Palo Alto stock brokerage of Needham & Co. In 1945, armed with his own license, he set up shop as an independent broker. With the beginnings of initial public offerings of stocks in the late 1940s, Mr. May began investing, thus helping provide seed funds for such companies as Hewlett-Packard and Varian Associates.

His firm eventually merged with the regional brokerage Mitchum, Jones & Templeton. Mr. May worked there until July 1 of this year.

He was a longtime member of the Palo Alto Elks Lodge, a charter member of the Sharon Heights Country Club, and a past president of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce (in 1953). He also coached youth baseball teams in what was the forerunner of Little League.

He is survived by his wife, Margaret Ayer May; sons Roger May of Ladera and John May of New York; nephew Howard May; and five grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the May Family Foundation Charitable Trust, 415 Conil Way, Portola Valley, CA 94028.



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